"Spur of the Moment" Pumpkin Soup

One of the first things I start craving when the weather gets cold is pumpkin soup and the other day, while standing in the middle of a busy supermarket, I decided I that I had to have some. The only trouble was I didn't have a recipe with me and could only half remember what goes in it. I decided to try anyway and this is what I bought:

2 x Kent pumpkin halves (I chose Kent pumpkin because it tends to cooks faster than other varieties)

1 x red onion

Garlic cloves

Liquid vegetable stock (four cups)

Butter

Cream

Bread

To make the soup I cubed the pumpkin and roasted it for twenty minutes with several garlic cloves. Meanwhile, the red onion was cut up and cooked gently with a little butter in a large stock pot. Once the pumpkin was roasted, I added it to the pot along with half the garlic cloves. I added the four cups of stock and let simmer for about ten minutes. Once the soup had reduced, I blended it with a stick mixer until it was smooth and bright orange. To finish, I added a little cream and salt and pepper.

To go with the soup I made (half) homemade garlic bread. Using the remaining garlic cloves, I made a quick garlic butter which was applied liberally to a par baked roll. The roll was baked for ten minutes and severed hot. 

Here is the result; thick, creamy and just the way I like it. I'm already planning to might it again!